Microsoft is being investigated by the FTC over antitrust concerns

Microsoft is being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission successful a wide-ranging antitrust probe, making it the 5th Big Tech institution to autumn nether specified scrutiny successful respective years.

The bureau is looking into Microsoft’s unreality and bundle licensing business, cybersecurity services, and AI offerings. Bloomberg archetypal reported the news and The Verge confirmed the probe with a idiosyncratic acquainted with the matter, granted anonymity to talk to a confidential probe.

The request for accusation that spans hundreds of pages and culminates implicit a twelvemonth of informal discussions with Microsoft competitors and partners. One absorption is connected however Microsoft bundles productivity and information bundle with its Azure cloud, per the source. The FTC’s involvement successful Microsoft’s unreality concern picked up successful the aftermath of several information incidents impacting its products, peculiarly due to the fact that Microsoft is simply a apical supplier of bundle to US authorities agencies. The FTC and Microsoft some declined to comment.

The authorities Cyber Safety Review Board concluded earlier this year that “Microsoft’s information civilization was inadequate and requires an overhaul, peculiarly successful airy of the company’s centrality successful the exertion ecosystem.” Soon after, CEO Satya Nadella issued a memo to employees saying, “If you’re faced with the tradeoff betwixt information and different priority, your reply is clear: Do security.”

If the FTC brought a suit against the company, it would enactment Microsoft backmost into a acquainted position, if 1 from a bygone era. The institution faced an anti-monopoly suit from the Department of Justice successful the precocious ‘90s implicit the bundling of its web browser and Windows operating system. But successful caller years Microsoft has mostly escaped the benignant of antitrust scrutiny applied to Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Google, each of which is warring its ain monopoly charges from the government.

Still, a Democratic bulk connected the FTC is acceptable to alteration soon erstwhile President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated successful January. He volition apt take 1 of the agency’s existent 2 Republican commissioners to service arsenic acting chair, and volition yet get to nominate a caller seat oregon commissioner to the bureau who aligns with his viewpoints. It’s not retired of the question they’d proceed the probe, nevertheless — since Trump’s past DOJ and FTC respectively filed antitrust suits against Google and Meta.